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Re: Hello from Indiana

Hi! They are doing good. I just got them a little over a month ago. I inherited some bee frames inside a bee box. Sorry, I don't know all of the language lingo. They seem to have honey in them. Any options? Is the honey ok to process and eat?

Re: Hello from Indiana

Before you consider taking any honey, you'll want to make sure they have enough stored to make it through the winter. In our area, I think you'll want 2 deep boxes full of stored honey and pollen or 3 medium boxes. These are referred to as the brood boxes where the queen is allowed to freely roam and lay eggs. Once those boxes are full, you can add a box on top for them to store additional honey. This is usually called a 'honey super' or just 'super'. It's called a super because it's above the brood boxes.

Try to find a good beekeeping book to read (and quickly!). It isn't difficult, but there's a lot to know. If you're not alert to potential problems, your colony can have problems that you're not aware of. It's very satisfying though. Good luck!

Re: Hello from Indiana

Let me make sure I understand - you have one colony with two deep boxes that are 'active'. By that, do you mean that both boxes are filled with frames of comb containing honey, pollen, brood and lots of bees? Are nearly all the frames covered with bees in these two boxes? In addition to those two boxes, you have another 'non-active' box which is full of honey? By non-active to you mean that it is simply separated from the colony, with no bees in it? If that's the case, and your two 'active' boxes are filled with stores of honey and pollen, then you could take some of the honey from the non-active box. If it were me, I'd get the honey out of those frames and put the box back on your hive so the bees can start refilling the comb. You could decide later if you want to take that honey or leave it for the bees.